A fellow hijabi blogging about everything, but mostly beauty!

Tag Archives: beauty

If you are a makeup junkie like me that you already know exactly which foundation I’m talking about, if not then let me enlighten you. So I’ve seen many raving over the NYX Total Control Drop foundation be it the Gram or the internet, bloggers have been obsessed with this foundation. I wanted to see what the Whoo- Haa was, and on one of my trips to Jo’burg, I made sure I went to get it!

NYX Total Control Drop Foundation

Now that you are fully aware of what I’m talking about, let’s get into all the finer details. I purchased it from Clicks for R220,00 which I thought was a bit pricey for a drugstore foundation; despite the price I was still excited to try it. The foundation comes in those little drop bottles, and its glass and kind of matte which I love. The bottle is really pretty. The bottle however is only 13 ml which is exceptionally small, especially for the price paid. IF you enjoy this foundation, then you will have to replace it very often and it will get pricey especially if you using it everyday.

Because of the drop, using this foundation can be extremely messy and a lot of the product tends to waste and not to mention its extremely unhygienic; I really don’t think a drop bottle was a good idea, i actually prefer a pump bottle for my foundation. Apart from the drop, the formula is really thin so it really doesn’t work well with dry or a combination skin tone. The coverage is light to medium, however I found it more on the light side and I had to build on it quite a bit to get the coverage that I wanted. The formula blends well and it has a very light velvet and matte finish. Once you have build up on the product it looks nice. The foundation however is not enough to give you a flawless finish and blemish free look.

My verdict: Definitely worth a try! I love the finish of the foundation once it has been set, however due to it not working very well with my skin, I will not be purchasing it again.

Ever since I could remember I’ve been struggling with dandruff. Having dandruff can be extremely annoying! Try brushing your hair, and your black chair will turn into a white chair. Those with serious dandruff issues are totally relating right now!

I’ve literally tried everything possible that has been invented and nothing has worked. From shampoos to leave- in conditioners, nothing has been able to take care of my dandruff, until I came across this little home remedy which I promise you will be thanking me later!

You will need these two ingredients: coconut oil and tea tree oil.

Put a tablespoon or two of coconut oil in a bowl (the amount of coconut oil you use depends on the length of your hair), I usually put about 2 1/2 tablespoons of coconut oil. Thereafter, add a few drops of tea tree oil. Take the mixture and heat it in the microwave for a few minutes until warm; massage into scalp.

Benefits:

Coconut oil: coconut oil is extremely rich in vitamins, minerals and nutrients which allows your hair to extremely strong and shiny. Coconut oil is also rich in antioxidants, and has antiviral, anti-fungal, and antibacterial properties. When used on hair, it improves scalp health, fights infections and fungus; it targets the fungus and helps to kill dandruff as well as viruses and bacteria that may be lurking on your scalp.

Tea tree oil: tea tree oil allows your hair to grow by healing your damaged or clogged hair follicles. It is also quite effective in treating the scalp as it contains anti- septic and antibiotic properties which kills the fungus that causes dandruff.

Both these ingredients are working at combating dandruff. Heating the oil and massaging it into the scalp helps stimulate blood flow to the scalp, the warm oil soothes an itchy scalp and helps to keep the dandruff from getting worse.

Do this at least twice a week if your dandruff is really bad and you will see the results within a week or two.

A while ago I purchased the Swiitch Beauty Glowgasm palette but didn’t have much time to play around with it until recently. I absolutely love the packaging and the pans are incredibly big.

Swatches of Glowgasm

Now moving on to the product itself; the shades are super pigmented which is an extremely important quality for a highlighter, however on application it looks too pigmented and the pigmentation in just one stroke easily becomes too shiny, like super shiny and almost tacky, which I personally don’t like as I prefer a build- up of product. Some of the highlighters are quite creamy and not powdering, which tends to melt even if kept in a cool place. The creamy, almost buttery highlight makes it difficult for application as the product doesn’t really stay on a brush. I do enjoy the pigmentation, but I’ve used it only once and I really didn’t like the way it looked.

My verdict: 2/5

Worth a try but not a must have. Less expensive options could work better.

When I learnt that Rihanna was releasing a foundation line, I was ecstatic! I knew that when it eventually launched I would have to get my hands on it. Living in South Africa means no Sephora, so when it eventually launched all I could just do was watch other bloggers rave about this product with my heart sinking, realizing that I might not get my hands on this product.

Being the determined being that I am, deep down I knew this was not it! I couldn’t just give up that easily after this much anticipation. I had to find a vendor that sold the Fenty line and if I couldn’t get one then I would have to buy it online from overseas which also implicated that I would have to break the bank to pay for shipping. And lets be real; why is shipping so expensive? It’s like online companies do it purposely to make even more money out of us! As if we already not spending an enormous amount of cash on their products.

Okay, back to the review.

After much soul searching, I found a vendor that sold the Fenty line and to top it off she is from SA! How lucky was I? Well, I thought I was but that luck was short- lived when I realized that this would be the first time I’m purchasing foundation online. I’ve always been skeptical about purchasing foundation and concealer online but I was so curious, I was willing to take the plunge but with my fingers crossed. The foundation was selling fast, so I had to make up my mind! This was probably the most tedious part about getting the foundation. I was unsure about my shade because there’s only so much you can see in a picture and video.

I finally made up my mind, and decided on the shade 320.

After a few days, I obtained this product that I’ve been dying for! I’m scared and excited at the same time. Shivering, I open up this package.

The packaging is quite elegant, it also looks nice. The bottle is quite big (30 ml) and its glass which I loved. When I opened it, it had a fresh scent; it didn’t give off the usual foundation scent. I apply the foundation on a fraction of my face. Its drying fast so I need to work around it quickly. The foundation is a tad bit lighter then my skin tone, but apparently it oxides so eventually after a few minutes it got to my shade! I was extremely happy! How lucky did I get? It was the exact same shade of my skin tone. Now, that I’ve spoken about the shade lets talk about the product.

The foundation has medium to full coverage, its quite build-able. It tends to cover and conceal almost everything on the face and if you have nice skin then you probably don’t even need concealer. The product does dry fast so you have to work around it quickly; you may use a brush or blender. I used both, I applied it and spread it around my face with a brush and then used the beauty blender to blend out. It has a lovely scent and it has a very matte- Photoshop finish.

Verdict: I absolutely love this foundation, and its worth the splurge! It literally makes me look like a more refined version of myself!

If you would also like to get your fix of Fenty Beauty, www.makeupshack.co.za is there to satisfy all your makeup needs.

A couple of years ago, I purchased a cream Essence eyeshadow. It was in a small round tub, and it was a silverish grey. I liked the color when I seen it the first time. This little tub sat in my draw for years, and in the beginning of the year I was packing all my products and I had a look at it; it wasn’t very creamy and unfortunately I had to get rid of it. Something which I hate doing even if I’m not using the product!

After that I stuck to powder shadows, until I seen the Kyshadows in Kylie’s Holiday Edition, and I fell in love! I had to get my hands on these little tubs. After months of saving up I was finally able to get my hands on these products. And yes! It was so worth the wait. The colors and pigmentation are amazing.

Swatches of the Kyshadow; pictured above is Yellow Gold, Golden Plum and Camo.

When I first tried these products I had no idea that cream eyeshadow cannot be applied the same way that powder shadows are applied, and after an application in less then half an hour the product creased.

I was quite angry and disappointed and I thought something could possibly be wrong with the product. I then thought if this product costs so much it should at least be working, little did I know that I wasn’t applying it properly! After many failed applications, I decided that I needed to do something about this! There had to be a way for it to look good on me.

After testing and trying out many different methods, I finally came up with something that actually works and guarantees the product to stay on your eyes for an extremely long period of time.

This is the most important rule of cream shadow: apply it using your finger! You may use a small flat brush but for it to actually sit, use your finger!

Apply a concealer to your eyelids, this could be a cream or liquid concealer and then use a damp Beautyblender to blender the product in.

Then apply a dab of eyeshadow primer, just a teeny tiny bit not a little bit more.

Once you have done that, apply an eyeshadow that is the same color as your skin, I used a foundation sponge to apply and blend the eyeshadow.

If you are going to be applying a powder eyeshadow, then you need to apply it in this step. You cannot apply a powder shadow after you have applied the cream shadow, so ensure your apply all your powder products before you apply the cream eyeshadow.

The cream shadow is applied last, using your fingertip to spread and pat the product to how to you want it to be.

I then apply a fixing powder to my eyelid.

Lastly, I use a fixing spray so that it can stay in place.

Yes I know it sounds like a lot of work, but these are some steps that need to be done in order for the cream shadow to stay in place. Once I figured this out, I’m constantly using my cream shadows as I don’t have to work about it creasing.

It’s been a while since I last blogged or reviewed a product. So, here goes…

While I was out shopping recently, I was browsing through the skincare range of The Body Shop until this product caught my eye. It was a neat little bottle of foundation.

Above: The Body Shop Fresh Nude Foundation

I’ve always loved The Body Shop skincare products, but I wasn’t too sure about their makeup range, although if they were putting in just as much effort into a makeup range the results would be amazing.

Although there was a tad bit of uncertainty in the back of my head, I thought, “Oh what the hell? The worst that could happen is that it doesn’t work as well as another foundation or doesn’t blend as well but then you can just mix it with another product.”

And well being the being that I am, I know that if it wasn’t according to my liking I would most likely mix with a whole bunch of other products till it came to my liking because makeup is expensive and you can’t just throw products away, especially if its still new.

I ended up buying it.

And to my amazement it exceeded my expectations. (Well, I didn’t have a lot of them anyways.)

The bottle was a tiny bit smaller then the usual foundation bottle, but it was quite neat and the foundation easily came out without creating a mess unlike other foundation bottles. I applied it with a brush and then used a damp beauty blender.

The foundation is a creamy formula, its extremely light weight although it can be buildable but it does feel like your natural skin on your face. I wore it the entire day to work and it felt amazing on my skin. It was also able to cover up everything include the redness around my nose which has become extremely visible lately. It covers all the redness and breakouts without it looking too fake. Its extremely natural and it does make your skin look good without you having to plaster on makeup. Its definitely durable and can last the entire day and night if it is set properly without it getting cakey.

I haven’t even mentioned the best part about this product; it doesn’t have the typical foundation smell but rather a really light, fresh scent and this fresh scent is left on your skin the entire day! I literally, cannot get enough of the smell its amazing!